Flexible driving mechanism.



W. DALTON. FLEXIBLE DRIVING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED MAY g, 1908.

902,523. Patented'0ct.27,1908.

. WITNESSES yummy ffirlvnf W. DALTON. FLEXIBLE DRIVING MECHANISM.

Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

v 2 SHEETSSHEET 2. Fl (3.3.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8, 1908.

FIG. 2.

INVENTOR My?) 114 I U Att'y.

' To rill iulloin it UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM DALTON, OF SGHENEGTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIG NOR. TO AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FLEXIBLE DRIVING MECHANISM.

. Beit known that-I, WILLIAM DALTON, of

' Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady and State of New York, have invented a certain new ,and useful Improvement in Flexible Driving Mechanism, of which 1mprovement'the following is a specificationfl My nvention, wh 1,le relat1ng.,more par.-' ,tlcularly to .gear wheels flVhlOll transmit power from electric motors to axles ofelectric. locomotives, is; equallyapplicablefin' other installations,and its object is to provide a dr ving mechanism, of simple and inex GIlSlVB construction,

rivet connections, and in the operation vof which blowsor shocks shall be efi'ectively cushioned and the: application of power to the driving member shall be. made independently in a plurality of planes transverse to the axis of notation ofthe latter;

"The improvement; hereinafter fully 's'et forth. J i I I In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a rear view, partly in elevation and part y in section, of an electric locomotive driving wheel, illustrating an application of v my invention; Fig.2, a transverse section through thefisame, on lthelinefl a of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a"

similar section, showing thev driving memher as comprising a greater number of separate parts:or sections,rand.; Fig. 4:, a plan view of .a spring and itsseats, detached.

In elec tric locorriotiveshaving motors suspended on the axlesfdiificulty has been .experienced in providing gears of proper and suflicient strength to effect the transmission of the driving power. Motorsfor-this serv ice are usually fitted with a pinion on one end ofthe motor shaft, and, after the motor; shaft bearings and axle bearings become worn, when power is "'applied to fthe motor,

the pinion tends'toassu'me an" angular position, relatively to the locomotive axle which it rotates, and, 'in'doing so, to: cause its teeth to bear.only, or more strongly, at one end of thegear teeth. As the driving power is applied very quickly from the pinion to the gear body and axle, by the electric motor, it has the .efiect of a series of blows, and it has been found in practice that these .blows' on one corner or end of the gear tooth will cause it to break under pressure less than Specification of Letters Patent. "A;5p1i aon filed May 3,1903. I swarm. 431,688.

.Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

that which the calculated st rains indicate that it should sustain. The importance, in increasing the {life of the gears, by cushioning the blows. referred to and by substantially equalizing the transmission of power fromthe pinion to the gear tooth throughout the length of the latter, instead of at or adjoining one ,of its ends only, will be mani- Qfestto those skilledin the art, and my invention enables these results to be satisfact orily accomplished. I v My invention i herein exemplified as applied in connection with,'and for the purpose of transmitting driving power to, a

-driving, ,,wheel of an electric locomotive,

which comprises an inwardly extended huh, I, radial arms or spokes, 2, connecting said hub with a rim, 3,v and a flanged tire,,4, inclosing the rim and secured thereto in any suitable manner. The driving wheel is fixed uponan axle of the'locomotive', as in ordinary practice, and while properly therein termed a driving wheel, because effecting the movement of the locomotive, will v,be herein referred to as the driven, member, incontradistinction toa sectional or divided gear, through which the power by which it is rotated is applied, which gear has the capacity-of circumferential movement independently of the drivingwheel, as hereinafter described, and will be herein designated as the driving member.

The hub, 1, of the driven member, is extended inwardly beyond that portion of its length from which the spokes, 2, project, and its inwardly extended portion is provided with armsor spokes, 5, the outer ends ofwhich are connected by an annular rim or gear seat, .6, the periphery of which is finished;to.,a true cylindrical surface. A. sec

tional driving member, consisting of two or" more adjoining annular gear bands, 7, the

periphery of each of which is providedwith' gear teeth,- 8, is fitted, withv the capacity of a limited degree .of circumferential-movement, on the gear seat, 6, .the teeth of said gear bands being adapted to engagewthose of a pinion upon a motor shaft, which is not shown, and by which the gear bands are r0 tated in .the ordinary manner. An opening or recess, 9-, is formed in each of thespokes, 5, and slots,;10, corresponding in number with the gear bands, are milled in the adjoining portions of the gear seat, 6." An abutment block, 11, is fitted in each of the slots, 10,; said abutment blocks'having lugs, 12, on their outer sides which engage cor:

responding holes in the gear bands, and being segmentally recessed on'their ends, ad-

cesses of the adjoining abutment blocks, 11',

jand against similarly formed bearingfaces,

new the spokes, 5. The width of the spring seats, .14, is substantially equal to that of the gear seat, so' that they bear-on the abutment blocks of both or all of the gear bands, and they are provided with lugs, 15, which fit against the endsjof the openings, 9, and prevent lateral displacement of the spring seats andsprings.

vAs shown in'Fig. 3, the driven member comprises four gear bands, instead of two as in Figs 1 and 2, the construction being otherwise similar to that above described,

r stead of two or more, asshown.

except that in the case of Fig. 3, two opposite springs would be used for one pair of gear bands, and two other springs for theother pair. It will be obvious that, if preferred, asingle gear band may be used, in-

Myinvention is not. limited in application to a driving mechanism in which spur gearing is used, as it may, without variation of structural or operative principle, be applied inconnection with other classes of gearing, or with a driving member consisting of a single or sectional pulley,

In the operation of the appliance, when power as applied to rotate the driving memher in either direction, asby the engagement of the teeth of the pinion on a motor shaft with those of the gear bands, the latter will tend to 'move, ind ependently of the driven member, circumferentially on the gear seat which is fixed on the latter, and in such movement to compress the springs, between the abutment blocks, at one end, and the bearings on the spokes of the driven"member, at the other. The driving member will therefore move independently of the driven member, .until the springs have been sufficiently compressed to resist further independent movement, whereupon the driven member will be rotated, the compression of the springs serving to cushion any shocks or -blows in the transmission of the driving power. The division of the gear bands into a plurality of sections insures the applica uniformity tion of power to their teeth with substantial throughout their aggregate length, and obviates the liability to breakage which, as before stated, obtains where fitted with the capacity of independent circumferential movement' thereon, 'a-plurality of abutment blocks engaging the driving member, and springs interposed between said abutment blocks and bearing thereon and on the driven member.

2. In a driving mechanism, the combination of a driven member, a sectional driving member consisting. of adjoining annuluses, fitted with thecapaizity of independent ,cireuinferential movement on the driven. member, a plurality of abutmentblocks engaging said annuluses, and springs interposed between said; abutment blocks and bearing thereon and on the driven member.

3. In a' driving 'mechanism,the combination of a driven member, an annular seat thereon, a driving member, fitted with the capacity of independent circumferential movement on said seat, a plurality of'abutmentblocks fitting in slots. in said seat and engaging the driving member, and springs interposed between said abutment blocks find bearing thereon and on the driven mem- 4. In a driving mechanism, the combination of a driven member, an annular seat thereon, a driving member, fitted with the capacity of independent circumferential movement on said seat, a plurality of abutment blocks fitting in slots in. said seat and engaging the driving member, spring seats abutting against said abutment blocks and against the driven member, and springs interposed between and bearing on said spring seats.

- 5. In a driving mechanism, the combination of a driven member, an annular seat) thereon, a driving member, fitted with the capacity of independent. circumferential movement on said seat',.a plurality of abutment blocks fitting in slots in said seat and engaging the driving member, spring seats abutting against said abutment blocks and against the driven member, lugs on said spring seats engaging the driven member and preventing lateral displacement of the spring seats, and springs interposed between and bearing on the spring seats.

6. In a driving mechanism, the combination of a driven member, an annular seat thereon, a driving member, fitted with the capacity of independent circumferential movement on saidseat, a plurality of abutment blocks fitting in slots in said seat and having lugs fitting holes in the driving members, said abutment blocks being laterally insertible and removable in and from the driven member, spring .seats abutting and against the driven member, lugs on said spring seats engagin the driven member and preventing latera displacement of the spring seats, and tangentially located springs interposed between and bearing on the spring seats, saidsprings and spring seats being laterally removable from the driven member by manual compression of the springs. v

7. In a driving mechanism, the combination of a driven member in the form of a wheel having a hub laterally elongated be-- yond an outer plane of its tread and an annularvrim or gear seat connected by arms or spokes to the elongated portion of the hub,

a driving member in the form of a periphersprings interposed between, and bearing at their ends on, the spring seats.

8. In a driving mechamsm, the combination'of a driven member in the form of a- Wheel having a hub laterally-elongated beyond an outer plane of its'tread-and an annular rim or gear seat connected by arms or spokes to the elongated portion of the hub, a driving member in the form of a plurality of laterally adjoining peripherally toothed gear bands, fitted with the capacity of circumferential movement on the gear seat, a

plurality of abutment'blocks entering recesses in the arms and fitting in slots in the ear seat, said abutment blocks engaging the inner sides of the gear bandsections,'spring seats abutting against the ends of the abutment blocks and against the arms of the hub and having lugs, abutting laterally' against said arms, and tangentially located springs interposed between, and bearing at their ends on, the spring seats.

v WMl DALTQN.

WVitnesses:

S. W. TYLER, F. T. MARKS. 

